


Royal Prerogative

by coolbreezemage



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Cats, Fluff and Humor, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:02:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29760042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolbreezemage/pseuds/coolbreezemage
Summary: Tilly battles her nemesis.
Comments: 9
Kudos: 11





	Royal Prerogative

**Author's Note:**

> Gotta love Grudge.

The third time it happened, Tilly started to think that maybe this furry beast had some sort of secret plot cooked up in her evil mind. Or maybe this was revenge for the fact that she had finally found and reclaimed the beast’s secret stash of stolen hair ties and lipstick. Which was very unfair, considering they belonged to Tilly in the first place. She’d noticed that there wasn’t anything of Michael’s in the pile. So clearly this was some sort of vendetta against her specifically. 

Whatever the reason, she needed to assert her command here. 

“Get down,” she ordered, glaring as ferociously as she could at the creature that had taken up residence in the middle of her bed, right on top of her pajamas.

No response. The beast blinked wicked green eyes up at her. She clearly had zero intention of moving before she chose to move.

But Tilly didn’t have time for that. “Please get down. You’re not allowed to be here,” she tried, as if mortal concerns like regulations or logic were going to convince her foe of anything. “This is my bed. You have your own bed. It’s warm and fuzzy and it’s on Michael’s side of the room, not mine. And it’s bedtime. So move!”

A wide yawn was the only answer she got, slow and languorous, showing sharp teeth and releasing a waft of fish breath into the air. Tilly wrinkled her nose. 

She tugged on the arm of her pajama top, but it was no use, the cat might as well have been a black hole for all the chance Tilly had of taking anything out of her gravitational pull.

“I need this,” she said. “Why won’t you move?”

The door slid open and Michael came in. Grudge chirped at her and followed her with her eyes, but stayed firmly put where she was.

“Hey, Michael? Can I talk to you about something?” Tilly didn’t wait for a response before continuing. “Because your cat is sleeping on my bed and in my clothes and it’s really making my allergies worse. And then I’m showing up in front of the Captain with cat hair on my uniform and it’s really embarrassing.” Saru of course hadn’t said anything yet, because he was nice like that, but she wasn’t going to let it go on for long enough that he had to. She’d already had enough professors and commanders in her life scold her for being unprofessional, she didn’t need any more. 

Michael shook her head, utterly unsympathetic to Tilly’s plight. “Oh no, oh no no, there’s no way I’m telling her what to do. She’s got a mind of her own. If she’s chosen you, you’re stuck with her, and there’s nothing I can do, sorry.”

“I don’t even like cats!” Tilly protested. Beside her, Grudge curled into a ball, nose tucked nearly under her tail. It wasn’t cute. Not at all. 

Michael raised a questioning eyebrow. “Are you sure? I’ve seen you playing with her when you think I’m not looking.”

“Because I’m trying to keep her off my clothes!” That was really, really the only reason. Not because it was actually kind of adorable to see Grudge leap for the dangling ribbon or chase after the stuffed mouse. 

Well, adorable and terrifying. She’d shredded more than a few of those mice, and Tilly had found their cottony guts spread out over her blankets. She wondered if that was meant as a threat or a gift. _Look what I can do to you if you displease me_ , maybe, or _look how well I protect you from invaders and pests_. Too bad the UT didn’t work on cats. Though somebody had probably tried in the past 900 years. 

“Sure.” Michael didn’t believe her. “You know, you could put your clothes away in the closet instead of leaving them out,” she suggested, unhelpfully.

Tilly shook her head in hopeless despair. “She’d still find a way of getting into them.”

“Probably,” Michael admitted.

Grudge abruptly stood up. Tilly’s heart lifted as the cat stretched her front legs, then her back legs, as if she was finally going to jump off the bed and go mind her own business. A few more steps... but just when she thought she might have a chance of reclaiming her pajamas, Grudge settled back down on top of them.

Tilly groaned and sat on the bed with a thump.

“Mrrow?” Grudge bumped her head into Tilly’s palm. 

She sighed. This was going to be a no-win scenario. She started scratching the cat’s tufted ears, earning a pleased purr in return. 

Michael smiled at her. “I can ask Book for another sonic lint roller.”

“Yeah. I’m going to need it.” 


End file.
